1. Field of the Invention
The application relates to a device comprising a guide having a first pair of substantially parallel running surfaces, which are placed along a first track at a lateral distance apart, and a second pair of substantially parallel running surfaces, which are placed along a second track at a lateral distance apart, which second pair, at a crossing or junction, extends transversely to the first pair of running surfaces, and further comprising at least one carrier displaceable over the running surfaces, which carrier has a bearing axle, extending transversely to the running surfaces, for fastening of a load, which bearing axle extends between the running surfaces.
The application also relates to a rail system and a transport mechanism for use in such a device.
2. Description of Related Art
A device of the abovementioned sort, for the displacement of mobile wall panels along a rail system mounted on the ceiling, is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,676. The known displaceable wall system comprises a rail in the form of a tubular extrusion profile. In the tubular profile, wheel sets of a carrier are guided with respectively two wheels placed one above the other, which wheels are rotatable about a vertically directed axle and are aligned substantially horizontally. The wheels have bevelled side faces, which engage with running surfaces of the extrusion profile. Upon displacement of the wall panels, the bottommost wheel runs over two bottommost running surfaces, and the above-situated wheel runs over a single topmost running surface. The wall panels are suspended from the vertical axle which extends downwards between the running surfaces.
The rails can comprise junctions, such as T-junctions and crossings. This makes it possible to manoeuvre the wheel sets at these sites in a plurality of directions. Should the wall panels be suspended from two placed-apart carriers, it is additionally possible to position the panel in a number of ways, by, for example, rotating the panel, in which case the panels move, of course, along differently orientated rails.
The wall panels of the known device can be displaced over the rails relatively easily and with little force. In addition, the wall panels can be flexibly positioned.
A drawback of the known device lies in the fact that at crossings, at least one of the running surfaces of the rails is interrupted and the wheel running thereon is not supported. This means that the remaining wheel gets to endure the full load of the wall panels. This makes the load-bearing capacity of the carrier limited, since the bearing load is defined by a single wheel. Owing to the large forces which are exerted upon the wheels and the rails when a crossing is passed through, the rails and the carrier have to be made of steel.
In addition, as a result of lack of support at a crossing or junction, the carrier will run somewhat out of the vertical. The unsupported wheel will hence move down somewhat. In order to bring the unsupported wheel back onto the running surface, the wheel must be raised. This requires a certain degree of strength and dexterity on the part of the user. This is particularly the case where very large or long panels are used, for example of 5-13 metres in length. In addition, it is not possible to carry out the displacement rapidly and with low force application by hand.